Improvement in cotton and hay presses



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COTTON AND HAY- PRESS.

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UNITED STATESy PATENT Ormea.

WILLIAM M. SMITH, OF AUGUSTA, GEORGIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN COTTON AND HAV PRESSES.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 184,1 I3, dated November 7, 1876; application filed July 125, 1876.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM M. SMITH, of Augusta, in the county ot' Richmond and State ot' Georgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cotton and Hay Presses; and that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 represents a perspective view of the press. Fig. 2 represents a vertical central section of the same. Fig. 3 represents a View, in perspective and partly in section, of the double clutch, nut, and base-plate encircling the operating-screw. Fig. 4 represents one of the anti-friction pinious used to support the main screw-nut. Fig. 5 represents, in section, the brake and socket-plate, the upper clutch disconnected, and'a modification of the lower clutch.

My invention relates to that class of presses in which the platen o r follower that supports the cotton to be pressed and baled is -elevated from below by means of a screw, operated by a revolving nut and beam,or capstan, and, while the power of a screw operated in that manner is very great, much time is generally lost in running the screw and platen down preparatory to iilling the press for a new bale, as when the beam or capstan is revolved back it requires a horse to travel about nine hundred Iyards for that purpose after each bale has been pressed.

Many devices have been tried to save the `time and labor thus employed; but most of them are too expensive or complicated to be used by unskilled laborers.

My invention relates, rst, to a double-clutch mechanism and brake in connection with the elevating-screw and the platen of the press, whereby the platen and screw can be disconnected, and the latter quickly revolved down by its gravity without danger of breaking or straining any of the parts.

It relates, also, to the manner 4in which the operatingnut is provided with a bevel-clutch, and is supported by conical anti-friction gears and serrated bearing plate, to retain the gears in proper relation with the operatingnut.

It relates, also, to an oil well or receptacle in connection with the operating beam and screw, to keep the latter well lubricated and submerged in oil at each descent ot' the screw,

instance the lower beam A is suspended fromV the floor above, B, by means of the uprights C, the beam A and uprights C being securely connected by bolts a. These uprights are recessed nearl thc top, at c, to receive and retain the upper transverse beam D. The box E, in which the cotton is packed, is connected to the uprights G, and is suspended with them, by beams F, within au opening inthe floor B. This box E is provided with the ordinary slatted top D and hinged doors G,`

the latter being retained in position by hooked bolts g. The slatted platen or follower EI is sustained and elevated by the screw b. For this purpose the platen is provided with a pendent socket-plate and boss, h, having pro-` jections upon its lower end, to engage with corresponding depressions in the top ot' a double clutch,d, attached to the screw b, nearV its top, so as to remain in clutch and keep the screw from rotating while elevating the platen by means ot' the revolving nut e. This nut e is provided with a long extension, el, passing through the beam A, and a baseplate, e2, to which the long sweep or actuatingbeam I is attached. The nut e is supported by a plate, f, fastened to the top ot' the beam A by means of a series of intermediate serrated trunco-conical pinions, 71,10-

cated in a circular recess, formed between the nut c and base-platef. The under side of the nut and upper side of the base-plate have corrugations corresponding with those of the pinions, to retain the latter at equal distances apart without danger of crowding one against the other, as smooth cones or balls are liable to do, the latter soon becom ing attened by the pressure and sliding motion to which they are subjected, while corrugated pinions will always rotate, and for that reason retain their anti-frictional properties much longer than smooth cones or balls. The top of the screw b has a groove, b1, cut out of its periphery, to receive loosely the end of a retaining-screw, 7c, Fig. 2, or a key or bolt, k', Fig. 5. to connect the operatingscrew b with the socket-plate h; but the groove b is of such length as to allow the screw 11 to be unclutched from the socketplate h by the brake-lever land plunger-brake m when it is desired to lower down the follower, ready for the reception of the cotton to form a new bale.

When the operatingscrew is lowered until the double clutch d engages with the clutchboss of the nut e it is entirely out of sight, and inclosed in the hollow extension e1 ot' the nut e, and in a pipe, p, closed at its lower end, and attached to the under side of the sweep I.

In using the press, the screwvis run upward, and this pipe is filled with oil, so that in descending the screw will displace the oil and force it up the `whole length of the screw, thus keeping the latter perfectly lubricated and free from grit.

In a full-size press I generally make the operating-screw four inches in diameter and three inches pitch, to form a suitableincline to elevate the follower, and allow the screw, when released from the upper clutch socketplate h, to rotate by its own gravity.

The operation of baling cotton with this press is as follows: Supposing that the follower H and screw b have been run down until the double clutch d engages withthe corresponding clutch of the boss on nut e, and the boss h of the socket-plate is also in clutch with the double clutch d. the box E is packed with cotton until it is illed, and the sl'atted top and transverse beam I) are placed over it. The long sweep or beam I is then revolved, carrying with it the operating-lint that lit'ts the screw and follower against the cotton in the box until it is sufficiently compressed to form a bale; the doors are then opened, and the bands passed around the bale and tied, the nut e is turned back a couple ot'- turns, so as to descend the follower about six inches and relieve it ot' the pressure ot' the expanding cotton, and the cotton-bale removed from the press. The outer end of the brake-lever l is then elerated by means ot' the rope l and the plunger-brake m depressed upon the head b2 of the screw, releasing the latter or its clutch l from the clutch on the lower end ot' the sockct-plate boss h, until the head b2 rests upon the bolts k', where it is pressed against them by the plunger-brake m, as seen in Fig. 5.

'Ihe screw l), being thus out otclutch with the follower, is free to revolve and descend by its gravity, and its speed is regulated by the pressure applied through the brakelever.

it' the revolutions were too rapid, and the 1o,wer face of d and the top of' the boss of the nut e were plain surfaces, the strain caused by the wedge power ot the thread of the screw upon the nut would be so great as to destroy "the latter in a short time; but by means ot' the lower inclined clutch of d engaging with a corresponding one upon the end ot'the boss of the nut e, the latter is revolved and relieved of all strain.

To accomplish a similar result, I also use the modication shown in Fig. 5, in which the boss of the nut e is recessed, to receive an india-rubber spring or washer, fr. The lower part of the clutch d is then turned oft', so as to readily enter into the recess of the nut e, so that when the screw is run down it will compress the spring 1' against the thread of the screw, and receive the shock that would otherwise have been transmitted to the nut e.-

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim isl. In combination with the socket-plate h of the platen H and the boss of the operatingnut e, the double clutch d, attached to the elevating-screw b, to connect the latter alternately to the platen and to the nut e, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. In combination with the head b2 of the elevating-screw b and the double clutch d, the brake'lever l and plunger m, resting upon the head of the screw b, to disconnect the clutch from the socket-plate, and regulate the speed of the screw b while descending, substantially las described.

3. In combination with thel operating-nut e, having its under face recessed and corrugated, and its upper boss formed with inclined planes and projections, to engage lwith the doublel clutch d, the recessed corrugated base-plate f and pinions t', to reduce the friction between the parts, substantially as described. Y

4. In combination with the screw b ot' a press, operated in the manner shown and described, and the nut e, having a long extension, el, attached to the revolving beam I, the oil-pipe p, attached to said beam I, and forming, with the extension el, an oil-well for the perfect lubrication ofthe screw, substantiall as described.

5. In combination with the platen H and head b2 of the elevating-screw b, the socket clutch-plate h, provided with aretaining screw or key, k, brake-lever Z and plunger m, substantially as and for the purpose described.

6. In combination with clutch socket-plateV h, provided with retaining screw or key k, brake-lever l, and plunger m, the elevatingscrew b,recessed at b1 above the double clutch d, and the head b2 for the brake to act upon, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

WM. M. SMITH. Witnesses:

CLARENCE S. BEMENT, WM. P. BEMENT. 

